October 25th, 2015

Next Sunday, November 1st at 2:00am Daylight Savings Time ends. Time to turn your clocks back 1 hour.

ALL SOULS DAY If you would like to remember a loved one for All Souls Day, please write down their names, place it in an envelope and leave it at the front desk in the Rectory. If you can make a donation that would be helpful, but it is not required

BOOK CLUB Our next Book Club will be held on Nov. 19, 6:30-8-00pm. We will be reading a biography of Pope Francis, “The Great Reformer” by Austen Ivereigh. The New York Times calls it the best biography of the Pope in English to date. Cardinal Dolan demonstrates that the key to understanding Francis begins above all by recognizing his unfailing faith in the love and mercy of Jesus. Because of the size of the book, we will be reading the first half, chapters one through five this time and the remainder of the book at the following meeting.

CONCERT FOR SYRIA AND MIDDLE EAST REFUGEES—An Interfaith Evening of Hope Millions of displaced families need our support. Join us on Saturday, November 7th at 7:00pm in Blessed Sacrament Church. Ticket donation is $25 Adults, $10 Children under 12 (100% of proceeds will go to Catholic Relief Services). Featuring: Dr. Gregory D’Agostino, Organ Soloist, Seraphim, a NY/NJ Choir, Gabriel Aydin, Syriac Music Soloist and Highbridge Voices, a South Bronx children’s chorus. Robert Long, Conductor. Pick up a flyer for more information or purchase tickets at the church entrance this weekend. Let’s do something together as we share an evening of music and hope with our neighbors of all faith communities. We need volunteers on November 7th to help at the concert and the reception. Please sign up with a Social Action Committee member at the Church entrance or e-mail Matt Collins at
mtcollins2009@gmail.com

SAVE THE DATE! Pope Francis and Climate Change: A Call to Action— Friday, November 6th, 6:45pm Following the visit of Pope Francis, Blessed Sacrament will be the host of five exciting guest speakers on Climate Change. You won’t want to miss this discussion of the Pope’s recent Environmental Encyclical. Reception follows. Please pick up a flyer and please register if you plan to attend! Call 212-877-3111 or email
riablom7@yahoo.com

A VOLUNTEER OR VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED FOR SAINTHOOD INQUIRY: Transcriber with Experience The Dorothy Day Guild is looking for someone with experience doing simultaneous or recorded transcription to transcribe eyewitness testimony at the Archdiocesan Inquiry on the life of Dorothy Day. Interviews will be 4-5 hours long and conducted at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center, 1011 First Avenue, spread over the next year. Please contact
George.Horton@archny.org or 212-371-1011 ext. 2480 for more details.

SPIRIT SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25TH All parishioners are welcome to join us for an informal social gathering today, Sunday, after the 5:30 pm Mass, in the rectory. We will be having appetizers, “spirits”, sodas and desserts and all are encouraged and welcome to attend. See you there!

COLLECTION Thank you so very much for your generous response to the needs of the parish. Our collection last Sunday was $9,133. $3,353. was received through ParishPay for a total of $12,486. .Also thank you all for your donation of .$2,948. to the Mission Sunday Collection.

THINKING AND PRAYING WITH POPE FRANCIS A West Side Deanery Initiative
Workshop 3—The Gospel of Creation
Tuesday Nov. 3rd, 7-9pm,
Church of the Holy Name, Lower Church—96th St. (bet. B’way and Amsterdam)

“If you are truly concerned to develop an ecology capable of remedying the damage we have done, no branch of the sciences and no form of wisdom can be left out, and that includes religion and the language particular to it.” (#63). Come, encounter and get the dialogue going…
Participation in previous workshops not necessary.
Necessary reading: Laudato Si Chapter 2.

Environmental degradation and climate change have become closely linked with human rights and dignity as over a billion of the world’s poor stand vulnerable to life threatening effects from severe weather, declining crop yields, and contaminated water.
How can people of faith, politicians, and humanitarian leaders respond effectively to Pope Francis’ leadership on one of the foremost challenges of our times?

PAX CHRISTI METRO NEW YORK Sunday, November 1st is All Saints Day and the Church gives us the Beatitudes as the Gospel Reading. This suggests that the Beatitudes and saintliness must be related. But look at the Beatitudes. They talk about being poor in spirit, meek, persecuted, and insulted, among other things. Not very appealing or necessarily holy, we’d probably agree. So, what is the message we’re supposed to take from this passage? Could it be, once again, that we are called to be counter-cultural, that Jesus is telling us that what is truly right, truly blessed is to be humble, merciful, willing to suffer for righteousness. Let us never think that being Christian is easy, but let us remember that it is always worth the price.